The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-12-14
HOW JEFF. DAVIS WAS ARRESTED.
A Curious Story that the Mobiles of Annis-
to. are Won't 10 Tell.
W +. q.

Curious Story that the Mobiles of Annis-
to. are Wont 10 Tell.
ADMISSION, Ala, Nov. 26.-Jeferson
Davis has had good many narrow es-
capes, but one of them has never been
told in print, and the chief actor in the
affair has never cared to talk about it..
Somewhere along in the ffties the
Mobiles, an English family residing in
Pennsylvania, decided to move south
ward. They selected Rome, Ga, as
their objective point, and started on
their journey after making the necessary
disposition Of their goods.
The Mobiles had some family jewels
and about $4,000 in cash. How to carry
these valuables safely bothered them not
little, but they packed the money and
Jewels in an old-fashioned English hand
chest and took them along. The travel
ers landed at Charleston and took the
next train for their destination. Some
extra fare was demanded, and in paying
it they had to open the chest and expose
their treasure. Sharp eyes were on the
watch, and the glitter of the contents OF
the chest attracted attention.
AS matter of precaution the chest
was confded to Miss Mary Noble, who
sat in secluded section of the car with
her back to the door. At Branchville,
S. c., two gentlemen boarded the train.
One was youcg, why man, and the
other WIS tell and slender, past the
meridian of life, and Of distinguished
appearance,
When Augusta was reached the two
strangers went on to Atlanta, and the
Mobiles discovered that their precious
chest was missing. The conductor was
clamorously appealed to, and he instant.
~ gave it as his opinion that 'sthe one
eyed man had stolen it.
ssHe's bad looking fellow" said the
conductor.
The chest had evidently been snstched
out at the rear window of the car, as the
suspected man took his departure at a
moment when Miss Mobiles attention
was fixed in some other direction.
After a consultation it was decided
that Mrs. Noble and Miss Mary should
proceed to Atlanta and cause the errest
Of the supposed thief, while Mr.. Noble
and the others remained in Augusta
awaiting, not very confidently, the re-
suit.
Mrs. Noble succeeded in tracing the
two men to their stopping place in At
lanta, and identified them SIS soon as she
saw them. At her request they were
arrested and carried to police headquar-
ters, where the astonishing discovery
was made that the "one-eyed man" was
President Pieree's Secretary of War,
Jefferson Davis, and his companion was
his private secretary.
MIR. Davis was In good humor, and
of course the two gentlemen were at once
released with many apologies.
Before leaving, Mr.. Davis told Mrs.
Noble and her daughter that he regretted
their loss, and he rendered them twen-
ty dollar gold piece as an evidence of his
sympathy. Mrs. Noble declined to &C.
cept the gift, but Miss Mary spoke up
and said:
eyes, take it. That is some of our
money that the old rascal took
MIR. Davis smiled and pressed the
money upon Mrs. Noble, wao finally
took it, and carried it to her husband in
Augusta.
After the election of Nh. Davis to the
Presidency of the Southern Copfedera-
cy, Mr.. Noble, then prosperous con-
tractor, visited him at Montgomery and
talked with him about manufacturing
cannon.
Mr.. Davis asked him several questions
and then referred to the loss of the
chest. He introduced Mr.. Noble to Mrs.
Davis and told the story of the arrest.
Mrs. Davis laughed heartily over the in
cident, and with her husband took quite
an interest in the Mobiles from that time.
Noble went to work and made hun
dreds of cannon for the Confederacy.
Later he founded and built up the
fourishing city of Admission, Alabama.
In the midst Of his prosperity he is still
devoted to the 'sone-eyed man" who was
once supposed to be the author of his
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